2 Corinthians 4

¹Therefore, since we have this service, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. ²Rather, we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in cunning or falsifying the word of God, but by the open statement of the truth commending ourselves to every human conscience before God. ³And even if our good news is veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, ⁴in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. ⁶For God, who said, “Out of darkness light will shine,” is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

⁷But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the surpassing greatness of the power may be God's and not from us: ⁸afflicted in every way, but not hemmed in; at a loss, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body. ¹¹For we who live are always being handed over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal flesh. ¹²So death is at work in us, but life in you.

¹³Since we have the same spirit of faith, in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, and therefore we also speak, ¹⁴knowing that the one who raised Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us together with you. ¹⁵For everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it spreads to more and more people, may make thanksgiving overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Even if our outer person is wasting away, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us, far beyond all measure, an eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸as we look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal.

Translation notes 10

4:2 — “The hidden things of shame.” Literally as printed: the shameful practices that people conceal. “Falsifying” renders a verb for adulterating or tampering with something, echoing the peddling image of 2:17.

4:4 — “The god of this age.” Lowercase “god” follows the ordinary sense: a power that rules the present age, usually understood as Satan. Some early interpreters read “God” as the subject and attached “of this age” to the unbelievers; the study notes explain why the draft does not. “So that they cannot see the light” can also be read “so that the light … does not shine forth.”

4:5 — “Slaves.” The ownership word is retained under the charter's policy. Paul describes himself and his coworkers as belonging to the Corinthians for Jesus' sake.

4:6 — “Out of darkness light will shine.” An allusion to Genesis 1:3, not an exact quotation. The Greek base reads “in the face of Christ”; other editions read “of Jesus Christ.”

4:7 — “Clay jars.” Cheap, breakable earthenware containers, contrasted with the treasure they hold.

4:8 — “At a loss, but not in despair.” The Greek pairs a verb with its intensified form: at a loss, but not utterly at a loss. The same intensified verb appears in 1:8.

4:10 — “The dying of Jesus.” The noun can mean the process of dying, the state of death, or a putting to death. The bare name “Jesus,” without a title, occurs seven times in verses 5–14 (once in verse 5, four times in verses 10–11, twice in verse 14); this is unusual for Paul and is retained.

4:14 — “Raised Jesus.” The Greek base prints “Jesus” without “the Lord”; the other editions compared read “raised the Lord Jesus.” See the study notes.

4:16 — “Outer person”; “inner person.” The Greek uses the generic word for a human being. The second noun is not repeated in Greek and is supplied.

4:17 — “Far beyond all measure.” The Greek doubles the expression, roughly “beyond measure to beyond measure,” in a sentence that also contrasts a light affliction with a heavy weight of glory.